Oral Low-Dose Naltrexone in the Treatment of Frontal Fibrosing Alopecia and Lichen Planopilaris: An Uncontrolled Open-Label Prospective Study

Background Frontal fibrosing alopecia (FFA) and lichen planopilaris (LPP) is scarring alopecias with limited evidence supporting their treatment options. We investigated the use of low-dose naltrexone (3 mg oral daily) as adjunctive therapy in the treatment of FFA and LPP. Methods A single-center, u...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Curēus (Palo Alto, CA) CA), 2023-01, Vol.15 (1), p.e34169-e34169
Main Authors: Hamel, Remi K, Chen, Ling, O'Connell, Cailin, Mann, Caroline
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alopecia
Baldness
Demographics
Dermatology
Erythema
Hair loss
Narcotics
Pain
Patient assessment
Pruritus
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Summary:Background Frontal fibrosing alopecia (FFA) and lichen planopilaris (LPP) is scarring alopecias with limited evidence supporting their treatment options. We investigated the use of low-dose naltrexone (3 mg oral daily) as adjunctive therapy in the treatment of FFA and LPP. Methods A single-center, uncontrolled open-label prospective study was performed, with 26 patients who took low-dose naltrexone for one year included in the per-protocol analysis. Both patient-reported (pruritus and burning/pain) and physician-assessed (erythema, scale, and scalp involvement) outcomes were analyzed. Results There were decreases in erythema and scale for the overall longitudinal outcomes using linear mixed effects model analysis. However, only erythema had a significant decrease at 12 months compared with baseline. Mean erythema decreased by 0.93 at 12 months compared with baseline on a 0-3-point scale (p
ISSN:2168-8184
2168-8184
DOI:10.7759/cureus.34169